My perspective on the manager-to-director transition no one prepares you for. Five things I wish I'd known about leading at the director level, starting with the day the CFO put me on blast.
Needed this! It’s taken me two years to pivot away from just “good work”. 100% it’s about perspective, business picture - my challenge is how does work this with keeping the people in mind?
Here’s how I think about it. Being great at the Director level is not in conflict with being a great people leader. Having strong cross-functional relationships and being business minded makes your team’s job easier. Your strong relationships mean they’ll encounter less friction and have buy-in due to your credibility. You having a handle on the budget means you know when you can and cannot invest - it also prevents you from coming across as lacking information or decision making power. Someone who understands a P&L and how decisions get made is much more likely to create real growth pathways for their team vs. someone who is just nice and well liked but cannot work the system, that breeds disempowered teams.
Needed this! It’s taken me two years to pivot away from just “good work”. 100% it’s about perspective, business picture - my challenge is how does work this with keeping the people in mind?
Here’s how I think about it. Being great at the Director level is not in conflict with being a great people leader. Having strong cross-functional relationships and being business minded makes your team’s job easier. Your strong relationships mean they’ll encounter less friction and have buy-in due to your credibility. You having a handle on the budget means you know when you can and cannot invest - it also prevents you from coming across as lacking information or decision making power. Someone who understands a P&L and how decisions get made is much more likely to create real growth pathways for their team vs. someone who is just nice and well liked but cannot work the system, that breeds disempowered teams.